Cage liners - alternative materials to fleece

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Bekki

Bekki

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Hi all :-)

It has been a while since I posted around here. I currently have only 2 guinea pigs who are outside rather than in (they'll be back in winter when I go all soft). I have previously used fleece, vet bed and foam bedding and whilst foam was my favourite they just ate it, I do like fleece and vetbed (with towels under) but getting the hay off etc before washing takes aaaages especially as I tend to stuff the hutches with hay and bedding is much faster to clean out so I went back to bedding. However, the council have changed their bin rules and really I could do with cutting out a bin bag of waste purely for the pigs (and buns) a week so they're getting hutch liners.

I was wondering if anyone had tried procool (like a sports clothing fast wicking material) or cotton with an absorbent layer such as zorb (probably will use zorb 3x as absorbent as terry and wicks beyond quickly!), hemp or bamboo. Such a combination is used quite often with loads of success in the "cloth diapering" world. I am thinking of trying it with the logic that if a baby stays feeling dry the piggies will too/itll be 5ft x 2ft so I can chop it up and reuse the fabric easily if it doesnt work. Itll work for the bunnies thats for sure, as they go in their litter tray for poops and 2 of them do for wees so just one tiny lionheads pee to deal with. Cotton will be super easy to get the hay off, not sure about the procool as I have never felt it but I have a fq on its way.

Basically the point of all my waffle is to ask if people have successfully used liners that do not involve fleece :-)

I think I am going to try one with procool and i'll report back. In other news I now make cosies, tunnels, hammocks, cuddle sacks etc also so may just have to make an entire matching set for them :D
 
Hi Beks,

We've tried both vet-bed & fleece & as you mention, the biggest problem is that hay get's embedded in both. You either have to spend a long time pulling it out or risk blocking your washing machine pipes.

For the last 9 months we've used Megazorb covered with a good layer of hay (just ordinary farm hay @ £4 a large bale). This is the only combination that allows us to just do a thorough once a week change. Other methods were generally at least 3 days then a change. All our piggies seem to love this as they've also got an ample supply of hay for constant grazing. Your ex-piggy, Minnie seems to be the biggest grazer of the lot.

The only vet-bet we use is on the top platform areas where they have their bowls of food & the only fleece we use are the various cosies & houses which we tend to use more in the winter than summer. At the moment they all either find a corner to sleep in or burrow under the hay.

If I ever changed to a different material, I'd try the tea-bag stuff which I saw in use at Bunny Burrows where I recently adopted Mitch from. Only downside is that they need to change it at least twice weekly.
 
I used to use megazorb it was good but too dusty, Fitch is what I love more its not at all dusty and its way cheaper and freakishly absorbent. Sadly any bedding still makes more waste than fits in my bin per week which now means going to the dump weekly which is a waste of time ans money! If the pro cool works it'll be a godsend it'll coat me a bit to make the liners but with a good absorbent core in theory a week is no problem its just whether the hay sticks or not. I'm assuming nobody here has had luck with none fleece cage liners/nobody has tried them. Easy enough to rattle one through the machine and test it though :-)
 
Do you have a Green bin for garden waste? Only I put all my guinea pig bedding in our green bin. I use a bedding called 'Cavianthus' at the minute which is basically a form of grass. It composts down and as guinea pig waste is basically just recycled green stuff all guinea pig waste goes into my green bin. Never had any issue with it being taken away. Our rabbits' waste (just their poo and weed on hay) goes in the Green Bin too. Hemp (Aubiose) would work the same way as it composts down fast.

Which I'm much happier about anyway as it seems to be far better than ending up in landfill etc. :)
 
Unfortunately the council deem that I don't have a garden and will only collect normal waste fortnightly and only if the lid closes exactly, I'd its slightly open they won't take it. The hamster bedding is cardboard and goes in recycling just fine buy that's full too after 2 weeks. It used to be that they'd take side bags. A lot of the winter I used vet bed and clogged my washer again. If hay doesn't stick to pro cool it'll work well at reducing waste :-)
 
That's strange, a few more people on here have mentioned megazorb being dusty. All that I've had hasn't been dusty at all but I get mine from Farmway at Stokesley who always have a big turn round in it so it's probably fresher that some other suppliers who maybe have it on the shelf longer. I even got some from Bunny Burrows who use the tea bag type bedding but had got it donated so I just gave them normal price & it was not dusty either but they thought it had probably come from Farmway at Darlington.

I just put the used megazorb in the bin with household rubbish. I try to put as much used hay as possible in with the compost but always end up with too much so some ends up in the bin.
 
The last time I used megazorb I cleaned out the two hutches (indoors) and then sat in a wheezing coughing fit for about 15 minutes so no chance ill ever be trying it again. General waste is the issue, the council halved the number of collections then imposed a rule where the lid must close on the bin or they wont empty it and they wont take any bags either (all without reducing council tax ... cheeky if you ask me!).

I do like the fleece/vetbed if hay didnt stick to it (and never come out until in the washer) id use it this is hopefully where the procool comes in, ill be making a liner for the small covered part of my boys triangle run which they're in loads right now (apart from when heavy rain is forcast!). I shall report back on it as if it works its an easy solution to people who love fleece type beddings but hate the hay sticking to it! No harm done if it doesnt work as ill wash the fabric cut it back up and use it for something else.
 
Bekki2308 said:
Unfortunately the council deem that I don't have a garden and will only collect normal waste fortnightly and only if the lid closes exactly, I'd its slightly open they won't take it. The hamster bedding is cardboard and goes in recycling just fine buy that's full too after 2 weeks. It used to be that they'd take side bags. A lot of the winter I used vet bed and clogged my washer again. If hay doesn't stick to pro cool it'll work well at reducing waste :-)
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Oh what a shame! :(

Is your Council the one that's been on the news for suddenly reducing waste? All a bit crazy isn't it!

You'll have to let me know how it goes with the Procool stuff. I must admit I get fed up of sweeping fleece. I have a mixed cage - a fleecy section but the majority of mine is normal substrate because I don't want to be washing tons of fleece. (I have a 4x4 grid C&C which I'll be increasing to a 5x4 grid soon). I've started using puppy pads underneath my fleece to try and decrease the amount of washing because the incontinence pads take a long time to dry and they are very bulky in the washer.
 
Bekki2308 said:
The last time I used megazorb I cleaned out the two hutches (indoors) and then sat in a wheezing coughing fit for about 15 minutes so no chance ill ever be trying it again. General waste is the issue, the council halved the number of collections then imposed a rule where the lid must close on the bin or they wont empty it and they wont take any bags either (all without reducing council tax ... cheeky if you ask me!).

I do like the fleece/vetbed if hay didnt stick to it (and never come out until in the washer) id use it this is hopefully where the procool comes in, ill be making a liner for the small covered part of my boys triangle run which they're in loads right now (apart from when heavy rain is forcast!). I shall report back on it as if it works its an easy solution to people who love fleece type beddings but hate the hay sticking to it! No harm done if it doesnt work as ill wash the fabric cut it back up and use it for something else.
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I'll look forward to your review of the procool (not sure what it would be called here in OZ). I am a vetbed fan myself but as you say it is a nightmare getting the hay out of it pre-wash. So, anything that will work and reduce the work I am interested in, because I am not going to give up vetbed.
 
I think its called procool all over, its a sports fabric and one used in cloth diapers as it wicks very fast I am going to sew it as a top layer and bottom layer of a pad with zorb in the middle, itll be a bit of work sewing it as the procool is a stretchy material but as long as I pin it it should be fine. Zorb is 3x as absorbent as terry and very fast absorbing so in theory it should work great. It wont be snuggly like fleece but they get cuddle cups and similar anyway so doesnt make much difference the problems could be that a) procool gets damaged easily b) hay sticks c) doesnt stay dry enough or a combination of the three but we shall see shortly :-)
 
Update on this I have used the procool for something else, I have ordered suedecloth for my liners and they will be sewn hopefully soon!
 
hi bekki do you make your own nappies by any chance? :) i havent tried pro cool or seude cloth but i am making lap pads from minky for each piggie wondered if you can do embroideries or would they chew it in a liner. xx
 
I dont make nappies for myself thankfully I dont need them but I have made washable nappies, incontinence pads, breast pads and other feminine products for charity, for places in Africa where there is water for washing but no waste disposal so disposables just make a rancid mess. I looooooove the feel of minky if I am honest its awesome! I dont think the piggies would chew, none of mine chew anything but wood or plastic regularly, if there is nothing for them to really get their teeth onto they shouldnt get a grip? My own have never chewed vet bed or fleece even when bunched up tbh.
 
ha ha so glad you dont need them :(|) should of worded that better, thank you will get a move on with my boys liners i kept delaying that a really kind thing to do i might look into that as give me something to do over winter.
 
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